Machrihanish Online

A statue of Sir William Mackinnon has been erected in Kinloch Park thanks to the local Rotary Club and funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund
The statue has been brought from Keil School in Dumbarton which was closing down.

Sir William Mackinnon was obviously a man of great vision, his company objectives included: ...the elimination of the slave trade, the prohibition of trade monopoly, and the equal treatment of all nations...

Brief Biography: Sir William Mackinnon of Balinakill
(1823-1893) Ship owner and colonial developer

Born at Campbeltown, Argyllshire, Mackinnon trained as a grocer, but went out to India where he eventually founded the British India Steam Navigation Company which developed a vast trade round the coasts of the Indian Ocean. This extended to the east coast of Africa, between Aden and Zanzibar, where Mackinnon established what was chartered in 1888 as the Imperial British East Africa Company; its objectives included the elimination of the slave trade, the prohibition of trade monopoly, and the equal treatment of all nations. Mackinnon promoted H. M. Stanley's expedition for the relief of Emin Pasha, and in 1891 founded the Free Church of Scotland East African Scottish Mission. He also founded the independent Keil School in Dumbarton. He was created a baronet in 1889. On his death (without issue) he was buried at Clachan, Argyllshire near his beloved house Balinakill